[Investigation of school life of children with acquired brain damage]

We investigated the status of the school life of 72 children with acquired brain damage attending to different schools: special schools (30 cases), special classes in an ordinary school (9 cases), and ordinary schools (33 cases). In the special school group, the main disorder was the sequelae of encephalitis/encephalopathy; there were 26 cases unable to walk, 29 with severe mental retardation, and 25 with epilepsy. In the ordinary school group, main problems were the sequelae of a cerebrovascular disorder or a traumatic brain injury. Impairment was mild in this group; only 2 cases were unable to walk, and only 4 were mentally retarded. However, many patients had learning difficulty and costed the families much work to achieve school lives. In all groups, the use of welfare equipments improved the activity of daily living. We emphasize that welfare equipments and community support systems should be utilized for these children.